I FEEL that I must respond to the article regarding kerbside recycling in the Shuttle/Times & News on March 17 and the letter on this page the following week.

I have had many people ask me about the future of recycling as a result of the article and I can categorically state that there is no intention to cease recycling.

However, as a result of the Waste Management Strategy signed up to by all local authorities within Worcestershire, the way recyclable waste is collected will change.

By 2009 the technology will be in place to collect recyclable waste in the same way as domestic waste - that is by way of a wheelie bin.

What this will mean is that households will not have to hand sort their recyclables into two separate boxes, they can simply throw them into a new wheelie bin for recyclable items only.

This will be collected in the same way as the current wheelie bin system.

What this will also do is eradicate the labour intensive collection system that we have at present and replace it with up-to-date sorting technology.

So why was this system not implemented from the start? The answer is straightforward. The Government sets local authorities waste reduction targets and Wyre Forest was given a target of 18 per pent.

At the start of the scheme in September 2003 we recycled a mere eight per cent of household waste. The only way, at the time, recycling could be introduced was by way of a kerbside scheme as the appropriate technology was not in place in North Worcestershire to enable the recyclables to be sorted after collection.

The technology will be in place by 2009 which will mean all the items you currently recycle will be taken and sorted for you as part of the recycling process.

People may be asking what are the financial implications of this on the taxpayer? Well, remember that Wyre Forest District Council received a DEFRA grant which went a significant way to funding the original scheme and the extension of the scheme is being funded by DEFRA and Worcestershire County Council.

When the new scheme starts by 2009 the recycling vehicles will have come to the end of their natural life in any event.

In addition, with the construction of the Estech plant at Hartlebury most of our domestic waste which currently goes to landfill will be able to be reprocessed. Having gone through a fibre cycle process, approximately 90 per cent of domestic waste will be recovered into things like edging stones and paving slabs.

This will mean that the Government's landfill directives which state that no more than 22 per cent of our waste can go to land fill beyond 2015 will also be achieved .

Therefore, may I assure residents, that the new scheme, when it is implemented, will save this authority a considerable amount of money and I look forward to the amount we recycle increasing and the amount we send to landfill decreasing.

MARCUS HART

Deputy Leader and cabinet member

for commercial services,

Lowe Lane

Wolverley